With September considered an opportune time to consider a career or job change, and with the 2015–16 edition of the college’s Purposeful Work Unplugged speaker series kicking off on Oct. 7, here are a dozen Unplugged pearls of job and career wisdom from last year’s speakers. (More clips are on the Purposeful Work Unplugged site.)

Purposeful Work is a college-wide initiative that helps students identify and cultivate their interests and strengths and acquire the knowledge, experiences and relationships necessary to pursue their aspirations with imagination and integrity.

1. “Don’t work with [fill in the blank]”

Great advice and and even better wit in this exchange between JP Maheu, Twitter’s head of global branding and agency strategy, and George Gallate, CEO of RKG, on Jan. 29, 2015.

2. Careers only look linear in retrospect

President Spencer states a key premise of Purposeful Work, that our career paths are haphazard in reality yet appear sensible and linear in retrospect. The liberal arts education gives students the tools and mindset to make the most of the zig-zag nature of careers.

3. Lighten up on yourself

Jean Thompson ’82, CEO of Seattle Chocolates, interviewed on Nov. 10 by Steve Fuller ’82, chief marketing officer for L.L.Bean, on Nov. 10, says that if she could go back in time she would “lightened up” on her younger self.

4. Leave doors open

Recalling a decision not to pursue medical school, Carol Gaffney ’67, a consulting psychologist who provides professional coaching, tells students not to be dissuaded by how long something might take.

5. Use social media to advance your brand

“Social and digital allows you to create an awesome network,” says George Gallate of RKG.

6. No experience is wasted

Spencer says that her prior job experiences, like litigating cases as a federal prosecutor, aren’t directly applicable to running a college but they certainly inform her work today.

7. Ask questions

“If you do not understand something, just ask. I tell that to everybody,” says Maheu.

8. Add value by adding your perspective

“If you ��Dz�’t know that it’s always been done one way, you can come up with a better idea,” says Thompson.

9. Have the humility to get better

“They were always looking to improve,” says Gaffney ’67, describing what it was like to see world-class orthopedic surgeons rigorously question each other on their techniques and decisions.

10. Seek out truth-tellers

“You need to find people in your network that will tell you the truth, even if it hurts,” says Maheu.

11. Have a plan to evaluate opportunity

Because the pace of change is dizzying, students should “have a personal plan” against which to measure their opportunities, says Gallate.

12. Accentuate the difference

Asked if she had advice for women who might be in a male-dominated environment, Thompson advises students to “sing the praises of being a little bit different. Different is what we want.”

Carol Gaffney ’67.

The Purposeful Work Unplugged series welcomes consulting psychologist Carol Gaffney to �ֲ���ý College for a question-and-answer session at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Fireplace Lounge, Commons, 136 Central Ave.

Sponsored by the Purposeful Work initiative at �ֲ���ý, the event is open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-6128.

CEO and president of peopleSOLUTIONS and Six Dimensions Sports Consulting, Gaffney provides coaching for professionals seeking to improve personal and professional people skills. The Q&A session will focus on questions posed by members of the �ֲ���ý community concerning her career path. Geoffrey Swift, vice president for finance and treasure at �ֲ���ý, will moderate the discussion.

Purposeful Work is a �ֲ���ý-wide initiative built on the premise that preparing students for lives of meaningful work is central to the liberal arts mission. The initiative is designed to help students figure out what kinds of work interest them, and to connect students to experiences that allow them to test these interests in the workplace.

Geoffrey Swift, �ֲ���ý vice president for finance and administration and treasurer. (Sarah Crosby/�ֲ���ý College)

The Purposeful Work Unplugged series presents question-and-answer sessions with notable alumni, faculty and guests about career trajectories and the traits that support meaningful work.

At peopleSOLUTIONS and Six Dimensions Sports Consulting, Gaffney works with the philosophy that self-knowledge and care are essential for maximizing one’s potential socially and professionally. Achieving goals in all realms of life rests on building communicative relationships of mutual understanding.

According to her website, Gaffney specializes in improving her clients’ skills in recruitment, leadership, performance and life management. Her inside-out approach offers insight into the basics of decision making across a broad range of interactions in the workplace and in daily life.

Previously, Gaffney worked as the director of family education at the CPC Millwood Hospital and as the owner and director at both the Mind/Body Center and Family Counseling Center in Arlington, Texas.

After graduating from �ֲ���ý in 1967 with a degree in psychology, Gaffney earned her doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is the former Goddard Fellow in Psychology at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. In addition to being a licensed psychologist, Gaffney is certified as a behavior, values and attribute index analyst and a sports axiologist.

Based in Barrington, Rhode Island, she is the author of several books and articles on successful parenting and stress management. Her clients come from a broad range of industries from sports to business.

Geoffrey Swift is the former chief financial officer at Harvard Law School. He joined �ֲ���ý in November 2014 as a member of President Clayton Spencer’s senior staff.